


A Night At The Mare

by marieelizabeth



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 13:41:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20931155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marieelizabeth/pseuds/marieelizabeth
Summary: A night spent at Whiterun's finest inn.





	A Night At The Mare

“A dragon? Are you sure the guard wasn’t on skooma? There’s a higher chance of Ulfric flogging himself naked in front of Elisif than a dragon flying in the sky.”

“Why do I think Falk Firebeard would find that more amusing than Elisif” Pennelope added to her companion’s quip.

“Seriously though, if the guard really saw a dragon, how would we even kill it? I’m not entirely sure that my conjured arrows would make a dent in its scales. No. Maybe dragons are allergic to something, kind of like how vampires are allergic to garlic. I say we force it to eat ingredients until it breaks out in hives.” In truth, Rumarin was scared out of his mind. Draugr? The worst thing about them is their stench. Bandits? Rumarin is surprised they’re smart enough to know how to hold a sword. But a dragon? It bothered Rumarin that he was spending so much energy worrying about fighting this beast. His whole life philosophy has been to care as little as possible and to just go with the flow. But the idea of fighting a dragon has him thinking about imminent death. Or even worse, Pennelope’s imminent death.

“When we find one, you’re more than welcome to try that strategy,” laughed Pennelope. Rumarin was jealous of how relaxed she was about this situation. “But we can worry about that tomorrow. Let’s go to the Bannered Mare and get some well-deserved dinner.” The pair descended the steps from Dragonsreach and argued over who could drink the most blackbriar mead in an hour.

Pennelope and Rumarin basked in the warmth from the fire and the delicious smell of dinner as they entered The Bannered Mare. Pennelope walked up the innkeeper behind the bar. “Hello, Hulda! Do you have any spare rooms -” 

“I would like to order a few bottles of Honningbrew Mead, and do you have any seared slaughterfish? If not, I’ll have your roasted salmon. Ooh! And I’ll have cheesy garlic bread! But please don’t add too much cheese, it will upset my stomach and then everyone at the inn will have a bad night.” her companion interrupted.

“There’s only one room available. But don’t worry, it’s up in the loft and has a big bed. There’s even a balcony overlooking the main dining room.” Hulda answered. “As for you elf, Saadia made horker stew. For just 5 septims you can eat as much of that as you want.”

“I guess that will have to do.” sighed Rumarin. As much as he loved Skyrim’s frigid weather, intolerant people, and incurable violence, he especially liked how well-rounded and nutritious nordic diets were.

“Get some food and mead for the both of us. I’ll put our stuff up in the room.” Pennelope instructed as she tossed him a small point curse. 

Pennelope climbed up the wooden staircase to the loft they rented for the night. Hulda was right. The room was much bigger than what she was accustomed to when staying at inns. She put their packs on top of the large bed and admired the soft fur blankets provided. Rumarin and her have shared an inn room before, but those had two separate beds. She brushed aside her concerns when she noticed just how large the bed was.

She heard Rumarin walk up the stairs behind her. “This loft is really nice. There’s even a table and chairs to eat at! And we can still hear Mikael’s awful singing!”

“First person who can successfully pelt him with food crumbs wins 20 septims!” Pennelope dared.

“You wouldn’t even need to pay me to do that, Penny,” Rumarin answered with a smirk.

After a few hours of gulping down horker stew, eating all of the Cyroodilic candy inside Pennelope’s bag, and chugging a few bottles of mead, the pair found themselves feeling warmer than usual.

“So, Ru, you’ve told me how you’ve become an adventurer, but not why you’re in Skyrim specifically,” Pennelope said. Her words started to slur as she leaned in closer to her companion.

“Oh, no reason in particular. I was bored of where I was and found a ride with a khajiit caravan. I didn’t ask where they were going because I didn’t particularly care. Next thing I know, I’m at Windhelm’s stables.”

Pennelope laughed and stared down at her drink. “You could have left, you know. You didn’t have to stay.”

“Oh, I was planning on it. But then I met you, Penny.”

Pennelope snorted and playfully punched his arm. “Come on! That’s not the reason you stayed!”

“Oh, but it is! How could I leave right when I met someone who doesn’t actively hate me? And someone who shares the same love of pie as me! And someone who laughs at my jokes? I’m not smart, but I’m not THAT dumb Penny.” He wanted to say that he stayed because he loved her. Because she made him happy. Because she made every day exciting. Because she treated him like a person, a friend, and didn’t dismiss his opinions. Because he couldn’t imagine what he would do if he weren’t by her side delving into crypts, or pulling pranks on shopkeepers, or marveling at how she was able to juggle so many responsibilities at once.

But he wasn’t drunk enough to say that.

“What about you, Penny? You’ve never talked about how you got here to Skyrim. Awfully mysterious.”  
“Oh, you know, the same way everyone does. I was arrested for crossing the border.”

Rumarin’s eyes widened. “Now you have to tell me that story.”

Pennelope sighed and stared away from her companion, like she was trying to imagine her life before adventuring. “I told you I grew up in Bruma. I never met my mother. I don’t know if she died or left, my father never spoke of her, and I never asked. My father owned a smithy, and my whole life revolved around helping him with his business. He rarely let me leave the city walls, but I was always so curious about life outside of Bruma. I yearned to travel to distant lands I had read about in books. One day, when I turned 22, my father told me that he had found a suitor for me. Some carpenter in a small village just south of Bruma. We were to be wed within the month. I argued with my father, but he was adamant about his decision. I was so scared that my life would be wasted stuck in a dusty shop in a small village, that I would never be able to explore the world, try new foods, meet new people, see new cities. I was scared, so I ran away. I didn’t really know where I was going, but I followed the road out of Bruma. I eventually found myself caught in the middle of a battle. Little did I know that battle was between the Stormcloaks and Imperials. The imperials won, and I was arrested since they couldn’t be too sure that I wasn’t a rebel. At Helgen, a dragon attacked and I was able to escape. Then I met you, and I think you know the rest of the story.”

“Penny, I had no idea…” Rumarin trailed off.

“Oh, shush! I invite you to a pity party! I think everything worked out well enough anyways.”

“Have you written to your father?”

“No. I’ve thought about it, though.”

“It’s ok. I barely remember to write to my parents. They probably think I’ve jumped into the Sea of Ghosts and swam all the way to Atmora by now.” Penny laughed and swayed in her seat. Rumarin was happy to see how well she seemingly handled telling her story. “Enough about parents, do you want to see if I can outdrink Uthgerd? I think if I subtly mention the companions enough she’ll back out and sulk in her room.”

“Ru!” Pennelope yelled and burst into laughter. Eventually, the two made it back up to their loft as the rest of the patrons of the inn lingered back to their own rooms for the night.

“I’m soooo sleepyyy Ruuuu” Pennelope slurred out as she dragged her feet across the room towards the bed.

“Penny I think, I think I’m just a little little drunk.” Rumarin whispered as he closed the door behind them. Pennelope slinked into the warm fur blankets and curled up against her pillow. Rumarin slowly walked over to his side and realized that they were going to share the bed. “Penny, if you want me to sleep on the floor…”

“No! No, it’s ok! I promise I’ll stay on my side! If I don’t, you have full permission to kick me!” Pennelope exclaimed. 

Rumarin wasn’t worried about Pennelope giving him room, he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back from inching closer and closer to her throughout the night. But, his drunken state allowed him to push aside his thoughts as he laid down.

“Night night Ru, thanks for putting up with me,” Pennelope whispered as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Rumarin stared at her sleeping form. He was amazed at just how beautiful she was, with her messy braided hair and her mouth slightly parted as she gave off quite snores. He knew he was in deep.

“I love you, Penny,” he said, barely louder than a whisper.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't edit or read over this again. We die like men.


End file.
